Fortune Cookies
by scorpiaux
Summary: Fire Lady Katara has it all: the money, the looks, the power, the husband. She knows that her life is completely perfect, and she’s sick of it! When a few old friends show up, Katara decides that she’s had enough of the perfect life. AxKxZ, Rated M
1. Chapter 1

_**Fortune Cookies**_

_Full Summary_: Fire Lady Katara has it all: the money, the looks, the power, the fancy husband. Somehow, she knows that her life is completely perfect, and she's sick of it! When a few old friends show up, Katara decides that she's had enough of the perfect life, and wants to experiment with another fortune. Rated M.

_Author's Note:_ Just remember to review, everyone!

* * *

High noon struck the palace. Sunlight poured into the countless chambers, spread light and warmth on everything it touched. Katara lazily finished off her tea cake.

"Is that all, Fire Lady Katara?" the councilman asked. "Anything else you'd like to add to your husband's revisions?"

"No, no—enough of that," Katara sighed desperately, rolling the remaining tea around in her cup. "I suppose that everything that Zuko is okay with…I'm okay with it too, right?" Personally, she was sick of hearing all of the new laws Zuko had put into order. She couldn't care less what happened to the Fire Nation. She had married the prince because she loved him, but not necessarily loved where he was from.

"Of course, Lady Katara," said the gentleman, standing up to go. "The laws will go into action at the beginning of the month."

"Hm," replied the Lady. "Well, councilman Chang, a ward will show you out. Thanks again for visiting."

"It is my job," replied the man, and smiled heartily before gathering his scrolls and leaving.

Katara, distressed and rather bored, wondered what she would do with herself for the remainder of the day. She walked to the drawing room, tracing her finger along the silk furniture, gazing lazily out the window.

Mountains, springs, and graceful hills graced the palace city. Of course the view was grand, but she had seen it at least two hundred times before.

It was then that Zuko strolled in, came up to his wife and took her hand.

"I won't be here for the remainder of the day," he stated quickly, looking at the sky. "I have three meetings that I have to attend about the laws. It seems people couldn't care less about health care or our country's security."

Katara's eyes narrowed. She pulled her fingers out of his grasp. "You've been out for the past week, dearest. I barely even see you anymore!"

"It's not my fault," the Fire Lord muttered. "I have business to attend to. It's important."

"So you're not going to apologize?"

"Why on earth would I do that? I just told you it's not my fault!"

The waterbender crossed her arms. "Well! That sure makes a lot of sense. You're the one who went through all the trouble of making those damned laws—and now you're saying it's not your fault?" Katara was angered now. Angered by her husband's absence, and by the way he was almost always insensitive to what she felt and what she desired.

"Katara, I don't have time for this. I'll see you tomorrow."

"You won't be home, either? I'm not going to see you until tomorrow morning?" Her manner had grown small and passive. As always, she couldn't figure out what was wrong with Zuko's behavior, and if it had anything to do with her.

The firebender pressed his lips into a thin line before leaving the room in large strides. No kiss goodbye, no promise of missing her all the way through.

As Katara lay in bed that evening, she turned on her side and regarded with a keen interest the outline Zuko's body had made in the satin sheets. He always slept on his back, folding his arms across his chest and watching the ceiling until drifting to sleep. Katara had a habit of sleeping on her stomach—grasping the pillow so that it was under her chest and twirling around in the sheets until there was nothing left for Zuko. But he hadn't been in the bed for a week, and his outline was slowly beginning to fade, out of the bed and out of Katara's memory.

They had only been married for a year. _It's too early,_ Katara thought, _for us to be growing apart._

But she knew that their relationship now was strained. Zuko was being tempted by guarding and protecting his country, and by the many shameless girls who still pined for the sturdy prince. While he let himself get carried away with the pressures and pleasures of being Fire Lord, Katara had drifted until she was nothing.

She was sick of it all, she decided. Sick of Zuko, the Fire Nation, and the extremely limited amount of love she was receiving from her hubby.

* * *

Visitors were arriving the next day, as if to answer all of Katara's prayers. It was a large procession. Something, some large ornate gathering, was heading for the palace quite early the next morning.

At the window she usually gazed out of, Katara squinted, cursed her eye sight for falling in on itself so early in life, and finally caught a glimpse of what she needed to see: a massive, fuzzy flying bison clumsily walking on the main path.

"Oh God," she murmured, stricken.

Her mind flew around in circles. Where was Zuko? He should have been here by now. She couldn't face the procession alone! She couldn't! The Avatar—the boy she had left for Zuko years ago—was coming to the palace.

Her palms felt uncomfortably clammy. What was she to say to him? "I'm sorry, Aang. I finally _did_ marry Zuko. Is that why you came? Just so you know, I sometimes still think about you, but I'm married. Why are you here, anyway?" The words fell like iron fillings from her thoughts. She couldn't face him—she wouldn't. It would be too strange, too awkward.

"Lee," she called to one of the servants. An older man appeared in uniform and bowed.

"Yes, Lady Katara?"

She tried to steady herself. "What, pray I ask, is going on about outside?"

Lee lifted himself from his bowed position. "Ah, it's a grand procession, Lady Katara. Simply marvelous. They are heading for the palace."

"Who?" Katara asked furiously. "Who is heading here?"

"Why, the Avatar. Surely you remember him, don't you, Lady Katara? If I recollect correctly, you had traveled with him for some time before marrying the then prince Zuko."

"That, Lee, is none of your concern," she stated. "Is Zuko in? He must've come back."

"No, my Lady. Fire Lord Zuko has had extensive business in the West District. He won't be back until, presumably, noon."

Katara felt her insides twist. "Well, what am I supposed to do with this…with the…with the Avatar?"

Lee looked strangely confused. "Well," he started awkwardly. "I would guess you treat him the same way you have treated other guests in the past, like Princess Azula, and Lady Mai and Lady Ty Lee, and your dear brother Master Sokka."

Katara balled up part of her ruffling dress in her fists. "Yes, yes…very good." She felt her forehead. "Is he alone?"

"I don't believe so, Lady Katara. It appears as though he has a woman with him."

"A woman?" The shock in her voice was almost too obvious.

"Yes, some sort of companion, it seems. Would you like me to prepare anything?"

Once again Katara steadied herself on the window sill. "Oh dear…"

"Lady Katara?"

"Please leave me, Lee," Katara ordered faintly. "Allow the Avatar and his bison and his _companion_ to come in for morning tea. No processions, please. This is just like Aang to clunk in unannounced."

The servant did as he was told. Katara fell on one of the sofas.

_Aang_. She hadn't said that word in such a long time, it felt. Zuko usually referred to him as "the Avatar" or "that boy you used to run with." It felt as if, for a very extensive period of time, Aang no longer existed.

But here he was—coming to the palace—with a lady friend! Who on earth could it be? One of his fans that he decided to settle down with? Was he married?

The shock was almost too much, but another part of Katara was slowly emerging from her pampered, smooth skin: the part of Katara that could never be prim and proper and shoved into a palace. She shivered at the last image of Aang, after their argument. After a few choice words. After everything had come and gone, and here he was, coming to the palace.

She wanted more than anything, now, to see him. Excitement settled in her veins where shock and anger used to be. This was Aang. Crazy, loveable Aang. An argument so long ago could never change that.

She ran to the meeting room, made sure everything was ready. She told a few of the woman servants to check her dress over, to place the finest jewelry on her skin and in her hair. She shook the worry from her eyes, and replaced said worry with mascara.

The side of Katara that had really loved Aang—really, really, truly loved him—suddenly appeared out of no where. She wanted so much to see him, to hold him, to tell him of her travels, to hug him, to kiss him, to take him in and—

"What am I thinking?!" she cursed aloud, putting a hand over her mouth. "I'm married!"

"That you are, Lady Katara," Lee said from the doorway, smiling just in the faintest matter when Katara jumped. "Sorry to interrupt your soliloquy, but the Avatar is at the front gates."

Thoroughly reddened, Katara smoothed her dress over her knees. "Ah hem…of course. Yes, let him in, please, Lee. And do lose that terrible habit of sneaking up on people. It is terribly unbecoming."

"Yes, Lady Katara."

Excited, anxious, and unsure of herself, Katara puffed up her chest as well as she could and swallowed a large gulp of air.

And that is when he appeared in the doorway.

A tall, robust man with a thick, short brush of black hair took a step into the long hallway of the palace. A bare shoulder revealed that pale blue arrow she had often traced in her younger days, the same arrow that peeked from beneath his hair. Storm gray eyes peered at Katara intensely, searching her face, her body, her home.

"Oh! A—Aang!" The stuttering came out even though she had tried to settle herself. He was so…different! So much larger, and stronger, and handsomer and…so different.

The Avatar bowed, which reminded Katara that she also had to bow, and so when the two bowed figures stood erect again, there was a silence.

"Good morning, Katara," Aang started taking many steps forward. Soon they were in an arm's reach of one another. "You are looking, in a single word, ravishing." He winked and grinned—the typical Aang gesture.

"Good morning," Katara returned, unsure of what to tell him, of what to do. "You are well, I hope?"

"Yes, yes. All is well." Aang shook her off with his wrist.

"I uh…hope you've come with good news." Katara wished dearly that the stuttering would stop, that she could steady herself mentally as well as physically. "Please take a seat in the meeting room, Aan—Avatar."

The traveled to the meeting room and sat across from one another, and it was then that Katara remembered he had come with a female companion.

Aang took numerous tea cakes from the table and helped himself. "Well, I actually just came to visit," he began. "You know, after we fought, nothing felt right."

"I see."

"And so, I figured, might as well pay a visit to my two friends in the Fire Nation—see what they're up to." He smiled through mouthfuls of cake.

"We're fine, Aang."

He swallowed, reached for his tea. "No children yet, I presume?" His gaze drifted almost absentmindedly to Katara's thin, childless abdomen.

She blushed furiously when she realized where he was looking. "We've only been married a year," she stated icily. "Zuko doesn't want children this early on." Before he could ask more questions, Katara took the lead. "And how about you, Avatar?"

"I'm fine, Katara."

"I've heard you've brought along a…companion."

His eyes shined brilliantly before he placed his cup down. "So where is Zuko?" he asked. "I don't suppose you run this huge place all by your lonesome!"

Ah! He had refused to answer her question. "Zuko is attending a meeting," she answered shortly. "He won't be back until noon. Until then, Lee will show you to your quarters. How long to do plan on staying?"

"Not too long, Katara. Just a bit."

"Lee! Lee, please show the Avatar to his guest room." Lee strolled in with Aang's minimal luggage.

Aang's complexion suddenly ran pale. "Whoa! Wait up there, Katara. Don't I get to sit and chat with you first?"

Her blue eyes searched his face—wondered deeply why on earth he had shown himself here, in the middle of her home.

"I'm sorry, Aang," she said, using his childhood name endearingly. She couldn't keep calling him "Avatar" when he refused to call her "Fire Lady Katara," could she?

"So we can sit and chat, then?"

"No, I'm…busy. I have a meeting, also, you see. And I don't want to be late." Lee perched his brows upward. The lie felt disgusting in Katara's mouth—but she couldn't sit with him. Not like this. Not now. She needed time, more than anything, to think.

"Well, can I at least give you this?" Aang rummaged around the strapped bag he had brought inside with him and produced a small, flat box. "You can open it later. It's just a little gift, you know, for old times sake." He winked again. Katara felt like vomiting.

Her shaky hands took the box from him. Their fingers met for a moment, only a brief, brief moment that passed too quickly.

"I love you, Aang!" Katara wanted to shout. "I don't know why, but I love you! You've always been so close to me! So, so close!" She wanted to grab his well built face and kiss him deeply, wrap herself about her shoulders and apologize for leaving him.

But reality sunk in. The Avatar was paying a visit to the Fire Lord and his wife. He was producing a small token of his appreciation to the Fire Lady, and would probably also give a gift to the Fire Lord. It was customary for guests to bring gifts.

So Katara muttered thank you, bowed slightly, and retired to her room. She locked the door and stared with odd fascination at the small, flat, ornate box.


	2. Chapter 2

_Fortune Cookies_

_Full Summary_: Fire Lady Katara has it all: the money, the looks, the power, the fancy husband. Somehow, she knows that her life is completely perfect, and she's sick of it! When a few old friends show up, Katara decides that she's had enough of the perfect life, and wants to experiment with another fortune. AangXKataraXZuko, Rated M.

_Author's Note:_ So many of the reviews began with, or ended with, "FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS SEXY, IS THIS KATAANG OR ZUTARA?"

I'm sorry-I was so vague. You see, dear reviewers, this fiction is a little bit of both. Predominantly, it will start out Zuatara-a passionate, unforgiving love that is both intense and frightening.

It will shift to Kataang during the middle of the fiction-a gentle, forbidden love between a married woman and her childhood friend. A taboo, restricted love. A love that always threatens to go out at any moment.

It will end as-oh dear! Can't give away too much now, can I? And for that reason, I won't. How many of you guys actually are Kataangers? Zutaraians? This may sway my final decision, actually.

(OH GOODNESS-There is a physical description of Katara in this chapter. If you're still curious to what she looks like, please mention that in your review and I'll send you the link to the drawing I did a while back.)

Remember to review and alert!!

-Scorpiored112

* * *

She refused to open it. In all honesty, Katara was afraid of what treasures the little box could hold. Afraid that, had she open it in the absence of her husband, it could terminate their relationship. And for this reason she hid the box beneath her pillow, called Lee to make sure Aang was tucked away in the guest rooms upstairs, and traveled to the palace library to occupy herself with calligraphy.

The library, in itself, was a grand manifestation of modern architecture. It encompassed a great and terrible amount of space-it held volumes and volumes of books and scrolls and paintings. Katara had often lost herself here, in the presence of the written word, of the written character.

She smiled at a sudden memory. Once, about a month after her marriage to Zuko, she had grown intensely angry with him and ran to the library to gather her thoughts.

"I wonder what that fight was about?" she asked herself aloud now, picking a blank scroll and placing it on the low table before her.

She remembered her confusion and rage at him, the way he brashly shook off her arguments. The way that, when he was angry enough, tufts of smoke would erupt from his fingertips.

But the memory had an intense ending. Katara fixated herself on her knees and wetted her brush with thick ink, losing focus as her mind drifted to a stranger time.

_I sat alone,_ she mused. _Yes...between the fourth and third columns of Fire Nation history scrolls. All first edition. Very nice. I began tearing out pages and cursing him and his damned Nation altogether. How fun it was! Amazing how oddly fascination grips the angered soul..._

_And that one page! Yes, I remember. I was ripping out pages so fast that I can't believe it stopped me. A picture, it was, with a short description. Two people, a man and a woman, a Fire Nation General and a woman with tan, milky skin, holding hands, close to each other. The woman was beautiful...and the man looked...unbelievably handsome._

_"The Fire Nation's Pact with the Northern Water Tribe," it said. Long before the great war. "The pact between Fire Lord Tsu of the Fire Nation and Lady Hoa of the Water Tribes is sealed with their marriage and the respect between their nations."_

Katara pulled her silk sleeves up and creased them neatly at the elbow, trying to concentrate on the small jar of ink before her and her unusually thin brush.

_That is when Zuko appeared at the end of the column of books, and ran towards me, asking me to please stop tearing out pages, and why was I crying? And didn't I know that he loved me? _

_It was very confusing, I still remember. I hated the confusion._

_I grabbed him, pulled him down...I hated the confusion. I hated the anger._

_Is that why I kissed him? As if to say, "Don't worry, my dearest Zuko...I love you, and I'm sorry. Not really sorry, but somewhat sorry. No, not sorry at all. But I am desirous. I am confused. I believe that a fairly large majority of our problems can be solved with sex."_

The Fire Lady blushed at where her thoughts took her next. She created the first strokes to her name on the blank strip of paper. She could hear Lee outside fussing with one of the other servants about the availability of fried porpoise skin at the banquet.

_Damn him-he kissed me back. My own fault...do I admit this? No...I remember telling him, "Zuko, we are in a library, for heaven's sake! Get your hands off of my-" Silence with a kiss! What were we thinking? Who knows if any servants saw us, tangled within ourselves above torn out sheets of paper! How on earth did we expect it to feel? _

Katara caught herself. The jar of ink had fallen sideways, giving birth to a river of filmy liquid, covering the sheets. She had been staring straight ahead of her-lost in the moment, in the memory, in Zuko's imaginary embrace. _It was...delightful , _she thought to herself, trying to mop up the mess with more blank scrolls. Even the memory of their clothes-the way they had tossed them about randomly, not caring where they landed-set her heart aflutter. She pressed her left hand to her chest, and the redness in her cheeks gradually died down.

"Lady Katara? Lord Zuko has returned from his-Lady Katara! The ink!"

The waterbender jumped. "Lee!" she cried, as if he could see her thoughts perfectly. "Why-what are you-didn't I ask you to _please_ stop sneaking about the palace? Honestly, this new habit is going to give me a heart attack!"

"I'm terribly sorry, my Lady," Lee stated, bowing. "Terribly, terribly sorry."

"Of course you are." Katara stood, allowing the minimal about of ink that had got on her dress to fall onto the wooden floor. "Pray Lee, do get some sort of cleaning implement and mop up this mess! Really now-if you aren't careful, it will leave a stain."

Lee made a distressed face. "And your kimono, my Lady?"

"Do focus on the ink on the floor and not on the ink on my chest, Lee," Katara answered, biting her lip at the realization. How much ink could be in those little jars, she wondered. "I'll have a maidservant look at this. Go on, Lee. The ink is spreading. Thanks to your hesitations, half the scrolls are soiled."

As Katara walked out of the library and into her own room, she took note of the sun's position in the sky. Evening already? Time seemed to be moving at an alarming rate, and Katara could hardly seem to keep up with it.

She was surprised to find that, just as Lee had said, Zuko had returned from his extensive meetings. He had sprawled himself on the bed, facing the ceiling, crossing his arms in concentration-a shirtless manifestation of muscles and arguments.

"You're back," Katara noticed, hoping the small box Aang had given her was still placed firmly where she last left it. She parked herself beside her husband, kissed his forehead. "How'd everything go?"

"Hm," he grunted. "Ridiculously long."

"Not surprising," came the reply. "Did they like the laws? How many people showed up? Oh-and the Avatar's paid us a visit, in case you haven't heard. Have you seen him yet?"

These questions seemed to bring the prince extremely minimal pleasure. He yawned in a distressed manner and suddenly, without warning, grasped Katara about the shoulders and pinned her down.

"Ink! Katara, you've got ink on your-"

"Yeah, yeah." She tried in vain to get up, but Zuko held firm. "Do get off! I have to change this kimono!" Zuko remained persistent. "I was in the library." And then Katara smiled devilishly, checking to see if the door to their chamber was locked and once again trying to pry Zuko off of her. "But you know, Zuzu, I was thinking of that one time we-"

"Ah! When we-"

"Yes!" Katara laughed. "Yes, precisely that!"

Zuko, who admitted to himself on a daily basis that his wife was particularly beautiful and sparked the inner fibers of his being, impulsively crushed his lips against hers. "We could do it again," he breathed, as if offering a challenge.

"Are you mad?" she returned, eyes widening in surprise. "Lee is in there now, mopping up ink! Zuko, please let go. I need to take these off."

The Fire Lord had beaten her to it. He peeled the soiled layer of silk fabric off and tossed it behind him, planting rash kisses about her neck, around her shoulders. She mumbled absentmindedly about the ink ruining her dress-but a few more kisses here and there, and the worry disappeared.

"Is the door locked?" she asked him.

The Fire Lady had a bizarre, almost impractical fear of the door being open during sessions such as these. "Someone could walk in," she had once explained to a fully naked Zuko. "Put some pants on and check if the door is locked! Go on, now!"

"But Katara, we-" He had, in the past, refused to check the door, because he couldn't care less if servants saw them or not.

"You won't touch me until the door is locked and bolted!" she had snapped, and so the firebender had done as he was told to do.

"It's locked," he whispered now, his teeth against her lips. "Locked and bolted, just as you like."

"Oh! Wonderful."

Their love was consistently passionate, and almost always surprising. On many occasions, fear would grip Katara's heart desperately, and she would squirm out from under her husband, make an excuse for feeling sick, and trap herself within the bathroom for a few hours or so, until their moods settled.

_It is our elements,_ Katara had once thought while dwelling on the subject. _Polar opposites, forced into one being. What else would I expect?_ Katara also held notions that Zuko's skin emitted abnormal amounts of heat, even for a firebender. Why else would the windows suddenly fog up? And why else would she suddenly feel like fainting? Like the humidity was entering her lungs in large, impossible strides?

But the shy, placid shell had worn off with time. She became quite the tease. An expert seducer. Or, as Zuko explained her once to himself, "a raging bender in sheep's skin." Caring, careful Katara became a wild, unpredictable being-a being who had once used bloodbending with her husband a week after their honeymoon.

It had excited Zuko at first-but with time his limbs and skin seemed to shiver. He realized he was not in control of his own actions-realized that his entire physical powers were at the mercy of a heady young woman. It scared him. And, perhaps, it was from then on that their lovemaking became merely a struggle for dominance between bodies and bending, and not a compassionate meeting of souls.

Now, as always in the past, the only emotion that could be detected in either pair of eyes was dark, bottomless lust: a lust that shone in eminent blue pools for Katara and rang in clear rings of flames for her Fire Lord.

* * *

Lee had shown Aang his sleeping quarters: a vast and exquisite room on the top floors of the palace. It was immense and-in a single word-red.

The bed, the bureau, the windows, the doors, the closet, the bathroom...even the toilet was fashioned in red shades. The arrangement fell together with shades of apples, rust, blood, and flames. Golden and yellow decorations also graced the room, along with the royal Fire Nation insignia.

"Make sure my-uh, companion-gets a room just like this," Aang had told the servant, placing his luggage on the carpeted floor.

"Do you mean to say, Avatar, that you and Lady Toph won't be sharing a room?" the weathered man had asked.

Aang stared at him, confusion dripping from his complexion.

Lee's eye twitched. "I suppose then, Avatar, Lady Toph will have the room across the hall."

"Alright. Thanks again mister..."

"Lee," the man answered. "And I should thank you, Avatar, for carrying your own bags up here. It gives me pleasure to see young people who can still lift their own weight."

Lee smiled, and Aang silently admitted that it was a creepy-but friendly-sort of smile. _It's the mustache and beard combo that makes him look like a closet pervert,_ Aang thought to himself. _It's a wonder Katara hasn't asked him to shave yet! She hates facial hair. Especially when its molded like that._

After Lee left, Aang had fallen asleep on his stomach, grasping his pillow to his chest, grinding his teeth. He couldn't help but ask himself if he had done the right thing.

The Avatar was not a creature of intense habit. Born a nomad, he expected and accepted his life the way it was-free of form or shape, a constantly changing gesture that blew with the clouds. Ah! And yet...

And yet he had come back. He had come here, to the Fire Nation Palace, willingly-what on earth did he expect?

He expected his dreams to come true.

Said dreams were usually styled around nothing in particular. They often floated from place to place. Odd, crazy, ecstatic dreams that held no stronghold anywhere. It was here he often dreamt of Monk Gyatso and the other nomads that had died before the Great War, and it was here he often allowed himself the pleasure of holding Katara again.

But when she did appear to him that night in his dreams, she was _not_ the same Katara from his childhood. No...she had changed in more ways than he could ever possibly hope to describe.

In his dream, he stood alone in a dark and ominous room wearing heavy, thick clothing. He struggled to take them off of him, and succeeded. But a fairly tight strap of blue bandages remained wrapped around his chest, constricting his breathing.

"What a pity!" he shouted repeatedly. The bandages grew tighter and tighter, squeezing the life out of him.

It was here in the trance that he saw Katara as he had seen her earlier that day: a full grown woman wearing red silks and exotic jewelry, hair braided and flowing out of a high bun. Still with the hair loopies. How he loved those hair loopies...

And the skin! Yes, it was her skin that truly drove him mad-that tan, perfect skin. Skin he often had imagined caressing. Skin he had tried to caress once before rejection.

Even her eyes glimmered marvelously, shining above him like a candlelight, threatening at any minute to go out forever.

But things changed. Her fangs grew out above her lips, her nostrils flared. Her eyes-those bright candles-became dark and hollow. And her clothes! Her clothes blew off as if a wind had taken them, and underneath there was nothing but red, burned, mutilated skin. It suddenly felt as though Aang had been doused with the truth of life all at once. Katara looked, in all frankness, like a demon.

"Help me, Katara," he shouted out in his sleep. He wasn't calling out to the demon, all though it was the demon that came to him. No, he had been calling for the Katara of his childhood-that innocent little spunk of a girl that could easily force him to forget his monkhood.

Those vacant eyes looked down at him, prodding him to move. He felt no love, nor lust, nor desire to be with the thing that had transformed from Katara. In fact, he felt nothing at all. Nothing except-

His chest. The blue cloth was restricting his breathing to an alarming level in the dream. He coughed and gagged and chocked and suddenly-he was abruptly awakened, wet with perspiration. It was with a heavy heart that he realized, yet again, he had wrapped himself in the blankets too tightly.

"What was that?" he exclaimed to himself after the ordeal, gripping his chest where the imaginary cloth once was. But Aang felt as though it was just a silly nightmare, and so it wasn't long before he fell back on the comfortable, warm sheets, hoping that the dream would refuse to visit him again.

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

_Fortune Cookies_

_Full Summary_: Fire Lady Katara has it all: the money, the looks, the power, the fancy husband. Somehow, she knows that her life is completely perfect, and she's sick of it! When a few old friends show up, Katara decides that she's had enough of the perfect life, and wants to experiment with another fortune. AangXKataraXZuko, Rated M.

_Author's Note: _Hope all is well, readers!

SUMMER is finally HERE. So thank goodness for that.

Very many subtle love forms in this chapter. Fortune cookies actually start to appear as the title suggests.

**All of you who are adding this to your alert and/or favorite list, please **_**review**_** it, too! Reviews make me feel special!**

Many thanks to those of you who have been reviewing so far!

-Scorpiored112

* * *

"It's an honor to see you again, Avatar Aang," the Fire Lord greeted, bowing to his newest guest. The morning was clear and fresh, and the air seemed to fill the palace with a curious warmth.

"Likewise, Zuko," the younger man returned, also bowing. "This is a great palace you've got here! Talk about red. Those guest rooms sure are something."

Zuko—who was somewhat pompous—smiled at this. "The finest in the Fire Nation, of course. Nothing less for the Fire Lord and his Lady."

Aang diverted his gaze. They were sitting in the drawing room, a fairly large assortment of entertainment food gracing the table, along with—of course—their morning tea.

"I hope we'll be able to spend time together today," Aang started, picking out a biscuit from one of the silver bowls. "All four of us I mean, you and me and Toph and…Katara." He took a bite of the sustenance, again not meeting Zuko's eyes.

The Fire Lord grunted uncomfortably. "Well, I'd like to. I mean, the offer is tempting…but—"

"You're busy," Aang finished, swirling around the remaining tea in his cup.

"Precisely," Zuko stated, standing up. "I have a meeting. I've made some new laws, you know. It's difficult to enforce anything on these people."

"It is difficult to enforce laws on any people, Fire Nation or otherwise," the monk added knowledgably. "Speaking of which, it doesn't look like you're doing a very good job as Fire Lord."

Zuko, who had planned to leave Aang momentarily, stared at his guest. This had obviously shaken his attention thoroughly. "Excuse me?"

Aang also left his seat. "Your country is in bad shape, my friend," he explained, placing a hand on the firebender's shoulder. "Peasants are everywhere. People look sick and many of them are dying. Some of your soldiers are still overseas from the Great War." He paused briefly, picking his words. "I'm just saying that you should really start to pay attention to that. Being royalty is great for you, but not exactly for everyone else." Aang's eyes sparkled at this. _Great for you, and for no one else._

Zuko's mouth hung open. His eyes narrowed dangerously, his uniform expanding away from his beating chest. This wasn't news to him—many officers had been complaining about the state of affairs in the country. But to hear it from Aang was completely different. "Hm," he muttered.

"I hope you don't take it personally, Zuko," Aang added pathetically, yet sincerely.

Zuko stared ahead of him, unsure of what to say, or what he could possibly add at this point to change the direction of the conversation. "I'm sure Katara would love to spend time with you and Toph," he replied just as pathetically.

"That would be wonderful," Aang answered, grinning broadly. "Any idea when Katara will be out?"

"Soon," the man murmured. "It always takes her a bit of time to get ready."

"Women," said the Avatar as ht took his seat.

But Zuko sat down again, looking up from his seat with a sly sort of smirk. "Speaking of which," he started, "I didn't know monks were permitted to marry."

Aang ruffled his brows. "They're not permitted to marry. I'm not married."

"Oh?"

"Ha! You and that one creepy servant have something in common"—Lee turned his head at this—"but Toph isn't my wife. Or my girlfriend. Or anything of the sort. I ran into her on my way over, and she said she'd also like to see you guys again."

Zuko suddenly wore a strange expression. A bachelor. In the palace. Who used to—and probably still—had a major crush on his wife. "It's a shame," he said finally. "I greeted her this morning. She's grown into a beautiful young woman."

"Tell her that, and you're dead!" Aang shot back, laughing. "Besides, her and Sokka have been seeing each other on a regular basis. Well…not _see _seeing each other—well—you know what I mean. Anyway, if it wasn't for her parents, they'd be married by now. I couldn't come between that—ever."

"It is good to know that you have your limits, Aang," Zuko responded calmly. "It's amazing that you've been able to remain a monk all these years."

Aang shifted in his chair. "I admit it's a difficult task."

"I believe that completely."

"Yet rewarding all the same."

Zuko nodded at this. "Well, I'll be damned if I stay a second longer."

"I'll wait here for Katara and Toph," the Avatar suggested. "Enjoy your meeting, Fire Lord." Again a smile, a breezy gesture. A bachelor. In the palace.

* * *

Sore and rather tired, Katara rolled over in the red sheets without feeling them. There seemed to be some sort of sprain on the back of her neck, raw and tender to the touch.

"That box!" Katara exclaimed absentmindedly. She was upset that her body was so fragile—upset that a little box under her pillow, causing just the slightest amount of change on the surface, could cause her such pain—but at the same time excited that she had yet to open the little gift given to her by her childhood love.

Still in her sleeping gown, Katara's slender fingers clasped around the box and gently lifted the cover.

She was expecting jewelry. Aang was obsessed with shiny things, although he didn't always let on to it. "Look at that necklace!" she had once exclaimed so many years ago, her eyes glued on a sparkling chain on a vendor's cart. "It must be made of silver."

"No, not silver, little lady!" the vendor exclaimed. "Although it's a pretty close match."

"It must be cheap, then," Aang had fused lazily.

"Not exactly," the man replied. The Avatar noticed Katara's longing gaze. "It's authentic," the gentleman added as an afterthought.

"Well…" Again Aang's eyes caught site of Katara's. _She must like jewelry,_ he thought. "I'll take it," the boy shouted then, not even taking in the price. "It'll look great on you, Katara." That little act of kindness, although somewhat expensive, had earned him a peck on the lips. From that day on, Aang was sure to lavish Katara with all sorts of jewelry: silver, gold, diamond, pearl, or otherwise.

But when Katara opened the box in her sleeping quarters that morning, she didn't see any jewelry. She saw, instead, a nicely folded, tasty-looking fortune cookie.

"Ha!" Katara's complexion ran pale. It was almost too much. "Heavens! I haven't seen the boy in ages and he shows up giving me a _pastry_?"

She picked the small cookie out of the box and observed it. Underneath, Aang had written a small note.

_Katara—_

_It's been so long. Be sure to open the cookie before eating it whole! _

_-Yours. Always._

_Aang_

It looked like he had wanted to write more, wanted to somehow explain why he didn't bring another gift. Something more acceptable. But he hadn't. He had referred to her as Katara. He was Aang. There was a little sugary cookie in the box, and that was all.

"The jewelry must be inside of it," she said quietly. But shaking the cookie only make her fingers dusted her fingers with a layer of grease.

Katara, making a face that hurt her forehead, reluctantly opened the small pastry. It cracked. Crumbs erupted from each perfectly creased angle. She reached and took the folded paper from the center.

She read the blue ink slowly—wanting to stop—to forget.

_"How many healers does it take to heal a broken heart?"_

She flipped it over, red in the cheeks.

_"Just one."_

Her fists tightened. Her stomach churned. She crumpled the small sheet of paper, threw it in the box, closed said box, and stuffed it under her pillow again.

Katara usually boasted a level head amid those delicate shoulders. She lost her temper at Zuko many times, she admitted. But, usually, she was a clear thinker. She concerned herself with the wellbeing of those around her. And this! This…this—fortune cookie…

She paced the room, shifted all of the outfits hanging in the closet, bit her lip until it resembled the color of the sheets.

And then she saw it: the ceramic pitcher of water that graced the golden nightstand beside the bed—and suddenly the temptation to bend seeped from every nerve in her body, and caused her to tremble so terribly that she rushed into the closet and threw a random kimono on.

She sat at the armoire and did her hair. She ran to the bathroom and splashed water on her face.

_Water, water, water!_

No, she couldn't bend. Not in the palace…not here. She couldn't.

And yet the temptation was so strong! Distressed, Katara dried her face and applied her minimal amount of makeup before leaving for the drawing room, bunching her shoulders and squeezing her fists as tight as she had ever held them.

* * *

"Doth mine eyes deceive me?"

Katara's miserable frame turned to find the source of the quote, hand on her forehead. When she was met face-to-face with none other than her rough earthbending friend, Katara let out a surprised yelp. So this was Aang's "companion"! Of course! Katara should have known better.

Toph had grown during the time interval of the healer's absence. Her jet black hair was cut down to her shoulders, with fluffy—yet graceful—bangs just above her eyes. The earthbender had also grown in length, and although she wasn't as tall as Katara was, she still boasted a full, curvy body that (as Katara could easily guess) pleased Sokka on various occasions.

"Toph!" she exclaimed, hugging the girl tightly. "It's so good to see you!"

"Likewise," the bender answered. "Although it seems that I saw you first." Toph mischievously waved her open palm before Katara's eyes. "Head in the clouds already? It's still morning!"

A warm smile slowly crept across the healer's face. She couldn't deny it: she had missed Toph more than words could ever express. It was difficult not having her old friends around the palace. Mai and Ty Lee—and especially Azula—could never fill the void that Katara had created by leaving Toph behind. In any case, she hadn't seen the trio in a while.

Rather content, Katara hugged Toph again and took her by the arm. "Actually, yes, now that you mention it," Katara began. "But I'll tell you…uh…" Katara's eyes narrowed as she coughed twice—"later."

"It's about Twinkle Toes," Toph concluded quietly as they entered the drawing room. "Nice! Some juicy gossip to liven up this place."

The figure known as Twinkle Toes stood to greet his two companions, grinning sincerely. "Juicy gossip?" he asked as he took Katara's hand.

"Loads of it, Aang," Toph replied coolly. "Apparently, two servants are having an affair in the palace. Right, Katara?"

Katara, amazed at the younger woman's wit, couldn't help but laugh. "But gossiping is for old ladies," she finished. "And anyway, we need to catch up." She took her hand away from the Avatar slowly and sat across from him.

"That we do," Aang confirmed. Their eyes met briefly over the snacks spread about the low table. "How have you been, Katara?"

"Um—fine. Fine, actually, now that you ask. Just fine." She took a bite of fried porpoise skin, averting her gaze. She felt as though she couldn't swallow. But she did, and then she couldn't take it. She couldn't lie to his face. "To be honest," she began again. "I'm actually distressed."

Toph frowned. The juicy gossip was supposed to be for her and Katara only. But she knew Katara to be somewhat of a loud mouth when it came to things that upset her, and so she said nothing.

"I opened your gift today, Aang."

The Avatar breathed inwardly at this. "And?"

The healer's brows furrowed. Aang's soft stare met her icy eyes instantly. Toph shifted in her seat. Katara pressed her lips together illicitly. "And the cookie was delicious. Thank you."

Even Toph could sense Aang's heart sink below his rib cage, his shoulders slumping forward. He wore an expression of pure disappointment quite clearly on his face.

"Oh," he muttered.

"So what are our plans for today?" Toph cut in. "Going to wonder around the country that once tried to destroy the world? I bet there are some major sites to see around the palace city! I've heard some good things about surrounding tea shops, too. Eh, Katara? I suppose you would know all about it"—her voice became recognizably louder as she separated the words—"being the _Fire Lady_ and all."

The waterbender shot her a glare and elbowed her side gently. "I don't get out of the palace much, actually," she corrected, allowing herself the pleasure of watching Aang guzzle down his remaining tea. "Running the country is tea consuming work."

She caught herself. "_Time consuming_ work, I mean! It's _time_ consuming."

This sparked Aang's interest. He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. "Well then, you'd probably _want_ to leave the palace for a little bit, wouldn't you, Katara?" He smiled again, reached for another slice of raisin bread, the plate that was placed conveniently in front of the Fire Lady.

"Of course," she replied shortly, watching his pastel colored arm reach in front of her. "I would love to leave the palace."

Toph returned the favor of elbowing Katara's side. "For today, I mean," Katara murmured.

Aang smiled. Katara hid her grin with her poised hand, feeling warmth rise to her face. Toph turned her face and stuck out her tongue.

"Hold on a sec, Twinkle Toes—before we go anywhere…" She stood up and grabbed the waterbender. "I—uh—Katara and I have to—powder our noses!"

Disappointed that her trance had been interrupted, Katara blinked and looked at her captor. "What? I don't need to—"

"Come on, those noses don't powder themselves you know! See you in a second, Aang!"

Toph led Katara as far away from the drawing room as they could possibly get. Now near the entrance of the palace library, Katara stopped, out of breath from pacing behind the physically fit bender dragging her.

"What was that all about?" Katara exhaled, trying to steady her breathing.

"You should be telling me!" came the reply. Toph wore a noticeably sly smirk on her face. "Let me tell you, Sugar Queen—you were flirting with Aang like there was no tomorrow!"

"What!" Again Katara's hand rose to her face. "I was not! That's preposterous! You and I both know that I am very happily married!"

"That's not what it looked like in there, dearest," Toph answered evenly. "You were _staring_ at him. You didn't even turn your face once! And his heart beat must have jumped around at least a thousand times."

"Really?" the older woman asked excitedly. "It did?"

"There you go again!" Toph slapped her forehead dramatically. "Well, all I'm saying is that I'm not going to get in the way of whatever you call _that_ back there. If you guys want to go around and see the city, you can. I'm staying back here!"

"Oh…" Katara blinked dully. "I wouldn't want you to do that." Toph perked her ears. "I mean, what would Aang think? That you just disappeared?" Again the earthbender slapped her forehead.

"Just enjoy yourself," Toph answered. "Have fun. Just remember you're married, I guess."

"Toph!"

"Just saying," said the girl, once again sporting a smirk. "I'll hang around here, mess with your servants a bit—the same sort of thing I do at my parents' house."

Baffled, Katara shrugged and paced back to the drawing room. And so it was decided that the Avatar and the Fire Lady were to spend the day together, free of Zuko and Toph alike.

Katara couldn't help but feel thrilled and terrified.


	4. Chapter 4

_Fortune Cookies_

_Full Summary_: Fire Lady Katara has it all: the money, the looks, the power, the fancy husband. Somehow, she knows that her life is completely perfect, and she's sick of it! When a few old friends show up, Katara decides that she's had enough of the perfect life, and wants to experiment with another fortune. AangXKataraXZuko, Rated M.

_Author's Note:_ So…Aang and Katara get a little tipsy in this chapter. All else is well though.

Updates will be coming much quicker from now on in, I promise.

REVIEW! I can't stress this enough. How do I know if you guys like the story if you just read it and say nothing? Feedback is extremely important to all aspiring writers. Ah hem…

-scorpiored112

* * *

"I can show you the palace city, Aang," Katara began, chattering like she was a child again. "It's amazing! When I first came here"—she did not say, "when I married Zuko"—"I came and saw a guy who could swallow three swords at the same time. It was amazing! But that's not even the best part, either! He could breathe fire—through the swords! It was really something, Aang, let me tell you. And there were these gypsies that could tell you the future. And benders, and dancers, and acrobats and…and just, everything! Oh Aang—there are always shows. Shows everywhere!"

"Sounds really great," the Avatar agreed as they walked to the outer gates of the palace. "I can't wait to see it all!"

"Neither can I," the Fire Lady admitted. "I haven't seen much of anything in a while, come to think of it." She sighed visibly at this, her shoulders slumping inward and her breath long and tired. "Zuko's always out, and it's not like I can just go alone." This selfless act of self pity made the Avatar feel like a terrible person.

So he, who had been walking fairly close to her right side already, reached out and touched her shoulder. "It's okay. You have friends in the palace now. Although I can't figure out why Toph didn't want to come."

Katara's eye twitched. "She was…feeling sick…"

"In any case, I'm glad I showed up. You could use a little fun, you know what I mean, Katara? It must be so boring here. It looks boring. And anyway…"

Aang rambled on and on. Katara barely listened. _That smile,_ she thought to herself, looking at him. It was so refreshing to see her old friend again.

It was not a very strange site to see royalty in the palace city. So, for the most part, no one paid either of them much attention. It's true that the vendors would exaggerate the prices of everything, and that the children would stop and stare. _They must be thinking where Zuko is,_ Katara thought. In all their textbooks, the two were always pictured together. But, in all frankness, she didn't care. Having Aang here with her was, in the plainest of terms, nice. And the Avatar, like the Fire Lady, had a large title to uphold. They were here because they could be, and for no other reason.

Aang hadn't changed at all. The first show took place in front of a tea shop called, "General Tsu's Shoppe of Sorts: Tea, Cake, and Curios." A sign in the window read, "If you don't like our tea, then you haven't tried our SUPER CRAZY EXOTIC TRIBAL ISLAND TEA BLEND OF A THOUSAND HAPPINESSES yet!" The store had paid dancers and acrobats to perform next to the shop to bring in business.

As the acrobats formed toppling towers and jumped back and forth to striking music, Aang couldn't believe his eyes. "Look at that! Sweet! How'd they do that? Wow, Katara—look at him, in the back!" Katara also enjoyed the show, as well as Aang's satisfaction.

"Hey, Jin!" cried one of the paid performers. "Do you know what's crazy?"

"And exotic and available in two sizes?" the girl chimed in.

"And just plain tribal?!"

The girl—Jin—made a spoiled face, pointing a finger to her chin. "Um…no? What?"

At this, the young, flexible gentleman cart wheeled to the center of the stage and burst out, "It's General Tsu's Super Crazy Exotic Tribal Island Tea Blend of a Thousand Happinesses!"

"It gives you energy!" Jin cried.

"It's got _flavor_!" the other exclaimed, his muscles tensing in paid passion.

The girl flipped to his side. "With seven hundred different herbs from the exotic tribal jungles of the Water Tribes and Earth Kingdom!"

Katara and Aang couldn't stop laughing. "There aren't any 'exotic jungles' in the Water Tribes!" the healer exclaimed madly.

"General Tsu must be pretty well traveled," her companion agreed, wiping his eyes.

The whole thing lasted for about an hour. Both benders had worn themselves out just by watching, and decided to try General Tsu's self promoted tea.

"I've never been in here before," Katara admitted blankly as they entered the shop. Clay figures were in every corner—figures of dragons, warriors, benders, and buildings. Aang pulled out a chair for Katara near one of the draped windows overlooking the city. She thanked him absentmindedly, still taking in the rest of the environment.

Their server was a boy of about ten years, whose father probably owned the place. He eyed both of them mischievously.

"What can I get for the lovely couple?" he asked.

Aang glanced at the Fire Lady. "Actually, kid, we're not—"

"We'll take two of those crazy exotic things," Katara smiled. "With all of those wonderful herbs from the Water Tribes." She winked at Aang, who laughed in agreement and nodded.

"Two, please," Aang stated brashly. "Make mine with extra flavor."

A fit of muffled giggles erupted from Katara's throat. "Oh, mine too!"

She noticed Aang's confused expression after their young server had left, the way his brows had furrowed crossly, his mouth curving to one side.

"There are a lot of citizens here who don't know much about the royal family," Katara started. "They expect us—well, they expect _me_—to stay inside the palace with Zuko all the time. And it's not like I can do that, either."

Aang tried his best not to stare at her. His eyes wondered about General Tsu's abode. "Why can't you?"

"Zuko's always away," the girl answered quietly, playing with her fingernails. "He never has time for anything. And he's become so serious! He never really…_talks_ anymore! I feel like I'm just some—" But she stopped herself, red in the face, and followed Aang's example by continuing to examine their surroundings.

There was a short silence. Aang caught Katara's gaze. She was just as beautiful as when she had left; the only thing that had changed, if anything, was her mouth.

"You aren't very happy here, are you, Katara?" the Avatar inquired, ignoring the noun she had refused to let out. He felt pressured to ask, because it was obvious to him that Katara hadn't smiled much in the time she had been away. Her mouth had become a thin, cynical line.

His companion looked out of their large window, her arms crossed neatly on her lap, her back straight. Aang realized that the wild Katara of his childhood had been dressed up like a porcelain doll and taught the proper manners of a lady. He suddenly felt immensely upset.

After a noticeable pause and two thorough blinks, she looked at him. "I'm happy here," she said, and smiled. But it was a sad smile. A pathetic "don't worry about me" smile that arrived at her lips half heartedly.

Aang didn't feel like arguing. "Don't you miss your family?" He had always wanted living relatives, and that is why he always asked about the relatives of his old makeshift family.

The boy had brought the crazy exotic tea, placing a shiny ceramic cup in front of each guest. The tea looked frothy, and had been decorated with leaves of sage and mint. "Enjoy," the server said quickly, and placed their bill on the table.

The Fire Lady looked into her glass with suppressed longing. "Very much." Her face twitched slightly. "But they visit—when they can." She once again smiled pathetically. "But come on, we're at General Tsu's Shoppe of Sorts! Let's try this stuff and see if it's worth the fuss."

They both held the cups to their lips and drank.

And looked at each other.

And took another sip.

And drank heavily.

The Super Crazy Exotic Tribal Island Tea Blend of a Thousand Happinesses turned out to be fairly addicting.

"We'll take another two," Aang requested as a different server walked by. They had both finished their cups, even eating the mint and sage garnishes.

"Tell me about you, Aang," Katara ordered, looking genuinely interested. "What have you been doing in the past couple of years?"

Aang felt his foot move up and down underneath the table, a reaction he usually got after caffeine. He stopped it before it started again. "Nothing, really," the Avatar answered. "I visited Toph a few times. Sokka was over every time I went."

Katara smiled warmly. "I knew it! Those two were meant for each other."

"I know; it's true," Aang agreed, nodding. "But her parents are such control freaks. So Sokka and Toph are planning on running away together."

Aang instantly saw the spark in Katara's eyes. She twirled one of her hair loopies around her pinkie. "That's so romantic," she commented dreamily.

The second round of teas arrived, along with a second bill. They wasted no time in draining their glasses wordlessly.

It was perhaps Katara who noticed the changes in Aang first, the way he began blinking and rubbing his eyes. The tea must have had something in it that brought it such a long and ridiculous name.

But she didn't care much. She was here with Aang, and whether the drinks were infused with something beyond herbs didn't matter to her. Katara patted a handkerchief to her lips. "These things are good," she admitted.

"I know!" Aang turned his glass upside down and inspected it carefully. "I could go for another round."

"Waiter!" the Fire Lady exclaimed. "Waiter, two more, please. Do you have a larger size?"

"Of course." The server scribbled down their order. "Two more large sizes for the couple."

"I feel light," Aang declared after he left, ignoring his comment completely. "Like flying. More than usual."

"Me too," the waterbender stated. "I would love to fly."

Aang noticed that Katara's poised body had lost its structure. She slouched lazily in her chair, elbows on the table. A dazed expression had spread itself about her face. "Have you ever noticed, Aang dear," she began, blinking, "that Toph's eyes are a light blue color? They're so foggy."

"I have noticed that, actually," the Avatar stated, feeling his face warm.

The third round of teas made its way to their table. They drank heartily, quickly, and without precaution.

"But," Katara continued. "Life is foggy, and light blue." She noticed her glass was empty again. "Waiter…two more."

"Isn't it, though?" he asked her. "Even your hair loopies is blue."

"Your hair loopies _are_ blue," the girl corrected, reaching for a mint leaf.

"Yes, I just said that." Aang blinked again. Although he didn't know it yet, General Tsu's expensive tea was beginning to affect his senses, as well as Katara's.

"I think we are drinking too much tea," Katara admitted, listening to the last voice of reason screeching in her head. "What's in here, anyway?" she asked him, as if he knew.

Aang's legs were both pumping up and down underneath the table. His face jerked. "A foreign blend of snows and winds from the east and the south."

"Ah, yes. That makes sense. You are so clever, Aangie." Katara soundlessly emptied her fourth large glass.

"Not as clever as you are, dear," the boy stated. "Your hair has the depth of the ocean. Your skin is embedded with the purest fibers of life." His gestures seemed heavy. He gripped the air with slow, muffled fists.

"I never knew that your arrow could merge into so many colors, Aang." Katara stooped over and felt the rough brush of hair Aang had grown over said arrow. "Your hair must be made of grass, dearest. It feels as soft as the laughter of children."

"Does it really?" Aang mused loudly, taking the hand that had just stroked his head. "Katara, you are a wonderful form of energy."

"Excuse me, Sir," their server stated, eyeing both of them. "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation." He frowned deeply and wiped his forehead. "I think you two have had enough of our newest tea."

The Avatar stood up, steadying himself on his chair. He offered his other hand to Katara. "We were just leaving, actually," the boy added with noticeably slurred speech. He threw coins on the table—more than he should have thrown—as they both left the intoxicating shop of curios, wobbling as if the world was spinning too fast.

It would be wondrous to think that they both made it back to the palace safely that day, but one knows that, when Super Crazy Exotic Tribal Island Tea Blend of a Thousand Happinesses enters the blood stream, it takes a while for it to come out.

So Aang and Katara wobbled into an alley. The freshness of the air had already taken away some of the tea's affects, and Katara and Aang were—unknowingly—thankful for this.

"I feel different, but yet—not so different. I feel…" Katara trailed off. They sat on a bench that had been placed in front of a closed-down tea shop. The ally was sad and dark, but far from dirty. It was probably a residential area in the palace city for those who were more of an upper-middle class than a high class.

The tea's effects were less obvious on Katara than they were on Aang. She was used to wine and smokes and things of the sort because of the palace and because of where she was raised. But he was not. So the Avatar, smiling awkwardly at the Fire Lady, grew closer to her. "How do you feel, Katara?"

"Light," she repeated. She could smell the herbal blend in Aang's breath—the smell of sage and mint and fermented berries.

His eyes, once deep, gray storms, looked remarkably shallow. "I feel like flying," he admitted, flinching.

Katara placed a hand to her forehead. To say she felt dizzy would be an understatement. The world spun around in torrents in front of her, sweeping color and shadows into its path. "Aangie…there was something in that tea other than exotic winds from the east and south," she stated, trying to catch her breath.

Her companion, who's body was positioned at a strange angle fairly close to the waterbender, reached out and touched her left hair loopy, and said nothing.

She turned to look at him, feeling the length of his fingers brush against her hair. Her judgment, even, was unsure of itself. "Aang?"  
His knuckles met the same side of her cheek. And then his palm opened, and he cupped that whole region of her face entirely. "You are a wonderful form of energy."

She could say nothing to him. The words rose in her chest, and threatened to come out, and protect her if need be. But she could not utter them. Even if the world was spinning right now, she could feel the warmth of his fingers right against her ear, and the sweet smell of his breath, and her senses were magnified at least one thousand times, and so the words remained put. She reached out, instead, and grasped the wrist of his hand gently.

"Everything is blue," he murmured, once again flinching. "Deep and magnificent. So happy." His other hand had made its way to the other side of Katara's face.

_He can kiss me,_ she thought, and this brought so much shock because—although she was honestly expecting something of the sort to happen—she could not believe it was actually happening.

A voice inside the Fire Lady was still screeching to her, trying in vain for her to listen to reason. _You are married! This whole nation, as well as your home, depends on the marriage and pact you made with Zuko. What if someone sees? Get up and go back home, you crazy girl!_ It would settle down before adding, _You love your husband, Katara. You love Zuko, don't you?_

A voice also existed within the Avatar, but it was lazy and muffled and not as clear due to a certain drink. It was a quiet afterthought that simply fused, _you're a monk, you know. Is everything blue, or what?_ and then fell silently to sleep.

So it is easy to say that they should not have kissed, nor done anything else, for that matter. But it is also easy to say that their judgments were rather fogged—rather frothy, and therefore, they were not in complete control of their own actions. Although they were both rather aware.


	5. Chapter 5

_Fortune Cookies_

_Full Summary_: Fire Lady Katara has it all: the money, the looks, the power, the fancy husband. Somehow, she knows that her life is completely perfect, and she's sick of it! When a few old friends show up, Katara decides that she's had enough of the perfect life, and wants to experiment with another fortune. AangXKataraXZuko, subtle Tokka. Rated M.

_Author's Note:_ Many thanks to those of you who are reviewing. Please let me know if I forget to reply to your wondrous feedback!

Lemons in this chapter, I guess? What exactly are lemons, anyway?

**If you are for any reason confused as to ages, here's a bit of a summary:** Katara left Aang after their travels when she was about 18. Her relationship with Zuko lasted from 18 until now, as 20 and married. Toph and Aang, then, are both currently 18 years old, and Sokka is 22…meaning Zuko is probably also 22. So that means 22 divided by the square quotient of 13 is 12 times 3. So that means my little brother is 4, my parakeets are about 6, and I'm 17 and hooked on this blasted bending show.

HEHEHEHEHEHE!

-scorpiored112

* * *

As Toph rested in the Fire Nation palace, she thought, most of all, about Sokka.

She had already missed him, although she'd only been gone a few days. His absence always had some sort of negative consequence on her, and—although she admitted that she'd missed the bodily aspects—the hugs, the kisses, the various physical activity—she also just missed having him around to brighten her day, or just to be available to pick on.

One of the older servants, Lee, appeared in the drawing room with a nervous look on his face. "Lady Toph," the man blurted, as if her name was a sin. "You…gave me a startle. I was quite certain that you were out to spend the day with Master Aang and Fire Lady Katara."

Toph, who had been picking her toes and dwelling on the miraculous beast that was her hubby, shot him the best glare a blind girl could give and snorted loudly. "I didn't go! What's it to you?"

He hesitated and made another expression underneath his hairy face. "Of course. My apologies, Lady Toph, but I—"

"Whatever," the bender fused. "Can you leave now? Your presence is disturbing me."

Lee sighed deeply and rather audibly. He spun on his heels and walked quietly to the base of the hallway. There was a silence, and then Toph could hear him sprinting up the stairs. It was easy for the earthbender to notice that he was acting as calm as possible, but she could sense there was something else in the palace too. _Something's up_, she thought. _That guy must be keeping some sort of secret. _And so she silently followed him up the stairs, sure that no one saw nor heard her.

* * *

General Tsu's tea, although richly advertised and over-priced, was a complete lie.

It did have flavor, true. And it was available in two sizes, yes. And maybe it did have seven hundred herbs in it. But the "thousand happinesses" that occurred in its name were a prime example of false advertising. The drunk, saggy effect of the tea only lasted for about half an hour, if even that. For the experienced, like Katara, the effects were gone in half the time.

She had admitted silently to herself, when Aang had cupped her face so perfectly in his palm—as if it were made to be placed there—that something was wrong with them. But in all honestly, just as the tea had made Aang impractical and rather frank, the tea had made her less and less of a worrying over-protective bender. She became, just as she had phrased earlier, light.

And the situation they were in—as one must admit the environment affects all animals—was by no means on their side. A comfortable, wide, covered bench in the middle of a dark, clean, abandoned alley. And Aang being there, and Zuko being at his meetings, and that blasted fortune cookie that had made her admire the Avatar all over again.

It seemed only natural for her to kiss him when he brought his face close enough. And it started light, because she was still in shock, and still rather afraid. And this was her childhood friend, and a light peck on the lips meant nothing. And the tea was beginning to lose its affect on her and she dearly wanted it back, although Aang's head was still in the frothy, over-advertised clouds. She had to admit that he was too cute for her not to exploit.

At her touch, Aang's movements quickened. He grasped her hips and the kiss deepened on his end, and soon on hers.

When Katara swayed a bit backwards because he was growing so close, the intoxicated Avatar pushed her back on the bench completely and slid his hand into the top portion of her creased, red outfit.

Doubts began to rise like smoke from the healer's brain. _This is madness!_ it was shouting. _He's on top of you! You're kissing—deeply! Tell him to get his hand out of your shirt! You've really done it this time, Katara. You ridiculous flirt. Get up and go home!_

She dismissed them all completely without a single thought. _Being impulsive is so different,_ she thought instead, pulling at his tunic. His knees tensed on either side of her body, their senses growing more and more attentive. _He is so warm._

So things did not stop when Aang touched her face. They stopped when the tea cleared up out of Aang's system about twenty five minutes afterwards, when he lay sprawled at her side, arm across her stomach, her knee against his thigh, his tunic gone, Katara half dressed and half asleep, and both with their skin tingling because of perspiration and the breeze that had also joined them in the alley.

The Fire Lady stirred and tried to sit up. When she looked at him with her lips slightly parted, as if inquiring what on earth they had planned on doing, the Avatar reflected, _I've kissed those lips_. And when he noticed her chest bindings loosely covering her breasts, he thought, _I've touched her breasts_. And when he lowered his gaze to the wrinkled clothing that fell in creases and folds across the rest of her perfectly curved body, he wondered, _Were we just…exposed?_ As it goes, when he noticed Katara's deep, blue eyes were looking at him in a way he could not recognize, he mused,_ What has she done to me? _

The whole situation settled on him like a hail storm. It wasn't too much of a surprise, but it was still a bit of a shock to find his old regular self next to an attractive, half dressed woman. Aang was a delicate young man. To be perfectly truthful, he loved Katara more than words could ever express. But she was married to one of his closest friends. And he still couldn't figure out what exactly they had done, and whether it was all a hallucination.

He looked at her again, his manner inquisitive. She blushed furiously at realizing he was now aware of their situation, and turned her back to him and slipped the upper portion of the dressy kimono back on as best she could.

For a matter of seconds, as the clothes were being placed back on her body, there was an anxious, lingering silence.

* * *

Toph had become a master spy over the course almost two decades. Because her hearing was so acute and precise, she made sure that no one—seeing or blind or deaf or otherwise—could hear her.

Sneaking upstairs, therefore, proved to be simple. She made her way across the hallways quickly and silently, her bare feet brushing against the rich, luxurious carpeting.

She had already heard noises upstairs just an hour ago, and figured that it had only been servants doing their chores. After all, her experience with servants was remarkably accurate. Servants chattered, maids blabbed endlessly, cooks never stopped whispering, and—to make the long story short—all of them enjoyed talking more than working.

But the noises weren't coming from the servants, and even if they were, Toph knew well enough that they were not even talking noises.

Because of the thick carpeting, the earthbender could barely see what was going on in the chambers upstairs. She realized that she didn't need to. Her expression melted in on itself; her mouth hung open to an unladylike extent. She ran down the stairs crossly because, even though she couldn't see anything, she had certainly heard enough.

* * *

Aang cleared his throat in uncertainty, and also pulled his yellow tunic over his head, and looked at the arrows gracing his arms with severe regret. "I don't deserve to be called a monk," he murmured sleepily. "What have I done?"

Katara, who most likely didn't hear him, had turned to face the Avatar with an unchanged expression. Still, red shades existed over her cheeks, and still her eyes searched him with cross, subtle passion.

He blinked, because he did not want to tell her of the thoughts that were flooding him now, nor of the thoughts that had been flooding him his whole life since the age of twelve.

So another silence existed, and they studied each other closely.

"I—I uh…gosh, I really don't feel like I should ask," the Avatar started, mostly to break the silence. "But…I mean, not that I think you know, or anything, Katara…" He stopped, brushing his square fingers through the thick brush of hair that graced his head. He smiled awkwardly, in a timid manner. "Um…what happened just now, exactly?"

Katara's eyes narrowed, and so the Avatar realized with dread that he had perhaps said something wrong. But soon her muscles relaxed, and her crossed arms fell lightly to her sides, and she sighed very audibly and bit her lower lip. "What do you think happened, Aang?"

Her companion once again took the liberty of searching her body through his eyes. The sight of her wrinkled clothes both concerned and excited him. "I don't know," he said, because he felt that this was the truth.

Once again with lips slightly parted, Katara scooted away from him and twirled a strand of loosened hair about her fingers. "I'm sure you can guess, Aang, can't you?" Her tone suddenly had an edge to it.

The Avatar was once a very pious boy, and—as any pious person can very well imagine—this situation was very distressful for him, and it showed quite clearly on his face. He made a grunting noise that sounded more like a silenced sob and turned his face away from Katara, who was attempting button up the rest of the clothes that hung over her looming bosom.

The healer noticed his actions, as Aang had always been this way: feeling so guilty and so innocent at the same time. She touched his shoulder as gently as she could. "You can look at me, Aang," she whispered softly to the back of his head. Her voice had become tender again—a concerned and loving pitch that sounded remarkably placid. "I'm just buttoning this, that's all." She smiled sweetly, but he didn't see it because he refused to turn his face.

She finished up the last of the frog-buttons and asked him what was wrong, and if he detested her now, and if he did detest her, she would certainly be very upset with herself, and also with him. And then she asked him if he was feeling okay, and that, if he wasn't, maybe she could help.

Because she sounded hurt, his eyes peered from the side of his face to make sure she was done dressing, and then he turned around. "I—well, Katara—I shouldn't have…I shouldn't have touched you," he stated clumsily, his voice cracking as if he were a child again. Suddenly his hands flailed about him, as if to explain. "Dear God—Katara, I'm a monk! And you're married! What was I thinking?" The airbender buried his face in his hands and tried to calm the bubbles that were rising in his throat.

He felt the gentle press of Katara's fingers against his back, and he admitted to himself that it warmed him immensely to have her touch him. And although he was still rather upset, he could not stop the hairs on the back of his neck from rising.

"It's not your fault," she began, and she sounded awfully remorseful because she had suddenly realized that she was indeed married and Aang was still a monk and this was by no means a dream. "I should have stopped you…I could have stopped everything."

"It's that damned tea," the boy muttered flatly, finding peace in displacing the blame. "It's my fault that I suggested we go in there. That place was just trouble waiting to happen. What did we expect from something that claimed to give you a thousand happinesses?"

The Fire Lady realized that she could not lie to him. She placed another hand on his back, and her movements became slow and heavy. Her fingers kneaded the firm muscles that lay under Aang's tunic in a mesmerizing way, and his eyes widened in surprise and exhilaration and, most of all, shock. "I could have stopped it," she confirmed furtively. "That tea had a much larger effect on you than it did on me, Aang."

He tried very hard to suppress the moans that threatened to erupt, and so he bit his tongue. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," she explained, crossing her legs as she sat behind him, "that it was my fault to begin with, and that you have nothing to worry about." Katara sighed loudly. "So don't feel guilty, or sad...okay?"

The Avatar was silent for a moment, enjoying the feel of her hands at his back. The urge to take off his tunic struck him, but he decided against it. "But, Katara…" His hesitation was obvious. "Why?" He bit his tongue again when her hands met at the base of his spine. "I mean, why _didn't_ you stop it." He added regretfully, "and…why are you…"

Much to his displeasure, her hands dropped to her lap, and she sat next to him, swinging her legs from the bench. "I don't know what came over me." It was not a complete lie, she thought, swallowing. "One minute you're giving me a fortune cookie, and then the next thing I know—well, we're in this alley together." She couldn't understand why she kept blushing, especially concerning the fact that, just moments ago, they had been fairly intimate.

There was a pause before the waterbender turned to him and pinched his cheek mischievously. "And you, Aang!" she teased. "I mean, I know I just told you that it wasn't your fault but"—her eyes glazed over with an air of recollection—"but…_wow_."

"Wow?" he exclaimed, obviously shaken. "What was 'wow'? What does that mean?" And although he was sure he knew, he had wanted to hear it from her; but she merely giggled and slapped his shoulder, and the mood lightened to a great degree.

"I'm just saying that I was...surprised," she explained shortly, and shrugged this off as if it were nothing.

No matter what they said, they knew they could not turn back time. Aang's whole body felt heavy and lethargic, and he did not know if it was from his actions or the happiness tea. In any case, he stood up, and Katara followed his example.

She placed a hand to her forehead. "What are we going to do?" the Fire Lady asked him; for, although she was technically the more mature under the circumstances, she was also the one who had more to lose, and also the one who was puzzled as to why she had done such things in the first place when she had rejected Aang so many years ago.

"I don't know," the Avatar answered dumbly, rubbing his eyes. "I still feel like—some sort of…like some sort of monster." He blinked thoroughly and looked at her with repentance in his eyes—the eyes that no longer looked shallow, but bottomless and guilty and perplexed. "I can't even remember what happened! All I know is that I never wanted to hurt you, Katara…ever. And I know you're taking the blame here but I—I still feel like it was all my fault. Like I attacked you." He paused and shifted his weight, placing a hand behind his head. "I'm really sorry, Katara."

He sounded so sincere that she hugged him tightly about the shoulders, and the press of her chest against his own caused him to gasp slightly, which in turn caused Katara to laugh, and the so the ordeal was to be settled some other time, when their heads were a bit more clear, after they had had time to reflect, and time to remember.

They walked back to the Fire Lord's abode, both silently dwelling on what had possessed their bodies in the palace city, and what Toph had done in the meanwhile to occupy her time, and what she would think of them if she ever found out.

Yet they returned to find Toph jumpy and jittery. Upon their arrival, she pulled Katara aside with the single quote, "Katara, I have to tell you something."


	6. Chapter 6

**Fortune Cookies**

**Full Summary:** Fire Lady Katara has it all: the money, the looks, the power, the fancy husband. Somehow, she knows that her life is completely perfect, and she's sick of it! When a few old friends show up, Katara decides that she's had enough of the perfect life, and wants to experiment with another fortune. AangXKataraXZuko, Rated M.

**Author's Note:** I just read over the first chapter and realized how suckish it was. I give all of you credit who stuck with me this far.

A bit of sensual content in this chapter. If you're squeamish/don't like that stuff/like Zutara, please don't read it and threaten me with knives. The scene is necessary for character developments, as you will find out later on.

I'm pretty sure there should only be 2 or 3 chapters after this one. And I'm sorry for the wait. I put this story aside for a while…I regret it, but…for those of you who know me, you know I went on a little OneShot dance and did a whole bunch of OneShots while reading other various OneShots and thinking only about said OneShots.

I suggest reading over the other chapters if you guys have the time because I made a few references here and there. Hopefully you'll notice them.

Enjoy reading, as always, and tell me what you think! Some of my earlier readers told me that my writing style has changed slightly. I don't know—maybe it's true?

_**-**__Scorpiored112_

* * *

There was an aura over Katara's heart: dark and looming and ominous—and for some reason, persistent—as Toph dragged her throughout the chambers of her own palace.

"What is it, Toph?" the Fire Lady asked, because she had grown bored and slightly annoyed and wished to join Aang in the drawing room. "What did you want to tell me?"

Toph turned to her and grabbed her wrist gravely. Her facial expression scared Katara in the slightest manner—the way it looked both shocked and disgusted.

"What the hell were you thinking?" the earthbender hissed.

Katara murmured, "What do you mean?"

"You know damn well what I mean!"

"Toph!" the Fire Lady exclaimed, making a face. "That's not how young ladies express themselves."

"Listen to me," the girl ordered impatiently, ignoring this. "I don't know what to do. I was going to tell you, but know that you showed up like…like _this_…" The earthbender turned her face to the wall. She made a disrupted sound that Katara could not identify.

"What?"

But it was obvious. Toph knew. Toph could tell. Katara felt immensely embarrassed. She crossed her arms over her chest and also looked away. "You know," the waterbender muttered quietly. "You know, don't you? Because I certainly don't."

Toph's bare toes kneaded the soft carpet beneath them. "What do you mean you don't know? Who the hell forgets something like that?"

There was a pause. Toph didn't say anything. Katara started miserably, "We were kind of…intoxicated." The awkwardness of the situation made the girl's voice high and frightened. She spoke in a tense and unusual way.

"Do you want to know?" Toph asked bluntly. "Because whether or not you want to, I'm going to tell you."

"We just kissed." But Toph laughed bitterly. Katara pressed her mouth into a thin line. "Don't tell me. Please don't." Suddenly she felt like vomiting.

"I'm going to."

"Toph—Toph please don't tell me." She bit her lip. She stated glumly, "We just kissed. I'm sure of it. I'm sure that's all we did." But the fact that Toph wanted to tell her and that she didn't want to hear it made the answer clear.

"You two made love, Sugar Queen," the blind girl blurted, quietly enough so that Katara could hear it but that the nosey servants couldn't. "I can feel it through the carpet—for both of you. I would say not more than an hour ago."

For the first time in a long time, Katara felt a tantrum coming on. She fell to the soft carpet with a detached grunt. Toph could feel her trembling, and bent down to her level. Suddenly she felt guilty, and a little childish. But Katara was married, and Aang wasn't her husband. And, quite honestly, she was sick of their flirting, and horrified that it had come to this.

"How on earth can you feel something like _that_ through the carpet?" the healer asked desperately, finding hope in questioning her source. She buried her face in her hands. The moments of pleasure she had felt before dissolved into shame and repulsion.

Now she knew the gravity of the ordeal. The weight. She had broken her vows. They hadn't just kissed. She had slept with another man. She had made love. _They_ had made love. In an open alley. Without the doors being locked and bolted. Without anything.

"Well, how can you?"

Toph didn't answer. She placed a hand on her companion's shoulder in a sisterly way. Katara admitted it felt awkward but she knew the earthbender was only trying to help—even if knowing this didn't help at all—even if she had just destroyed all the peace she had been feeling before—even if she hated Toph so much right now, but somehow also felt thankful.

"Will you be okay?" Toph asked monotonously. "Because I have some news that may or may not make you feel better."

"I feel sick," the Fire Lady reported. "Oh God."

Toph made a distressed face. Comforting others wasn't exactly her strongpoint, let alone something she did on a regular basis. She said pathetically, "Maybe it'll be okay...I guess."

"No, no it won't." Katara paused. The sun was already setting over the palace city. She wondered briefly were Zuko was. "Answer me," Katara ordered. "How can you feel something like that through the carpet?"

"Why don't _you_ answer _me_," the girl shot back. "How the hell can you _not_ know? It's _your_ body, Katara."

The healer creased her brows. She wanted to ask her to stop using such language in the palace—that someone would hear—but suddenly she didn't care. "I told you, we were intoxicated."

"Whatever."

"How can you tell?"

"Experience." Toph threw her hands up in the air desperately. "Come on, Katara! Please—it's _so _obvious." She hesitated and stood up. "And it's not like I'm some little girl anymore, you know. I'm eighteen."

For some reason, Katara blushed, and gladly accepted Toph's hand. They stood there numbly for a while. The waterbender didn't want to hear the "good" news, and Toph—swayed by Katara's curiosity at her feet powers—didn't bother telling her just yet. She would save it, she decided, for a more relaxed and tranquil time. Most of all she would have to think about whether telling Katara was right or not, and what would happen when she found out.

Yet, didn't Katara deserve to know? And perhaps it would make her feel better.

So she couldn't keep such a secret from her. Before the healer turned to go, Toph grasped her wrist again and turned to face her. "Don't feel bad," she said.

"Not bad," Katara answered slowly, finding it odd that Toph was trying to make up for what she confirmed before. "Just…guilty."

"Don't feel guilty either." The earthbender pulled Katara a little closer. She whispered quickly, "Zuko hasn't exactly been a model husband while you were away." She felt Katara's spine stiffen. Suddenly Toph hated being in such a tight and ridiculous position. It made her feel sick, and rather disgusted with herself. Gossip, in the words of the ever-wise Katara, was for old ladies.

"What do you mean?" She sounded innocent. Timid. Confused. Most of all, childish.

Toph took a deep breath. "I mean," she stated in an explanatory way, "he's having an affair. He slept with someone when he thought we had all left. He's broken his vows, too."

The world grew furious and black and unsure and Katara's body collapsed into the carpet. Aang ran to them after he heard the scream—Katara's silenced scream that erupted half heartedly as she fell. Her body was flail and useless and paled. She had fainted. And the news—though she had done the same thing Zuko had done—though she had somewhat expected this—crashed into her like a tidal wave.

* * *

She awoke in her bedroom exactly one hour afterward.

Aang's face lit up when her eyes fluttered open. Having him so close made her feel like kissing him. But she couldn't. And she didn't, because Zuko was right behind him, with Toph at his side.

Aang said, more to Toph than to Zuko, "She's waking up! I think she'll be okay."

Zuko asked quickly, taking a drag from the cigar he held to his lips, "What happened to her, anyway?"

"She fainted," Toph said tediously. Her tone was tense. "I've already told you. She fainted. That's all."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I've already told you. She fainted." Toph sounded as if she were talking to a little kid.

Zuko shook his head and nudged Aang's side. "Where you around when it happened?"

Aang glared intensely at him. Katara could only guess that Toph had told Aang of the Fire Lord's adventures while they were away.

One would think that, after hearing Zuko was having an affair, Katara would be angry at him. But she wasn't. She didn't even care who he was having an affair with, although she could safely assume it was Mai. She was the only one of Zuko's little girlfriends who didn't show up to their wedding. Katara had never felt close to that girl. She felt, mostly, that Mai was filled with secrets.

As she lay on the bed, facing the ceiling, eyes half open, she realized dimly that she felt nothing. She didn't feel jealous. She didn't feel bad. She just felt empty.

Perhaps the only reason she had fainted, if anything at all, was because this was what she deserved. In the alley she had discovered Aang for what he was worth—and the fortune cookie he had given her earlier only made her adore him all over again. Looking at Zuko through her foggy vision now made her notice the other thing: she never loved him. Maybe she was attracted. Maybe she had desired. But never loved.

There was only lust. Lust that she thought Aang was not capable of all those years ago. Lust she chased after Zuko because he was older—more experienced—more desirable than a child. Lust. That emotion that was barely emotional as it was physical. And now Aang had _that _little aspect, too. He had grown up. And she had run off and married Zuko.

She had fainted because of her stupidity. Because she could have waited for Aang. She could have, and yet she didn't.

They made a good sized fuss about her. Aang repeated over and over again, "are you okay?" But she merely nodded, or felt she nodded. The servants came and went with wet towels and water and perfumes and other such devices that weren't really necessary. Lee seemed most worried. He walked around the room anxiously until Toph yelled at him for making her nervous and ordered him to get out of the room and sit down.

Before Zuko left his bedroom, he bent forward and kissed Katara's forehead. He whispered, "You'll be okay, I think. I have to go." He smelled like thick tobacco. She didn't care. And as he passed Aang and Toph, who both glared at him as best as they could, he merely thought that they were upset because their dearest friend had fainted, and for no other reason.

Katara tried to sit up. Aang hadn't left her side, and he tried in vain to help her. She insisted she could do it on her own. A maidservant who was particularly fond of Katara placed a pillow behind her back and left the three friends alone in the large and ominous bedroom. Yet after the maidservant left, Toph felt like a third wheel, and also made her way out of the chamber.

For a short while there was a silence. Katara's body felt heavy, and she felt rather foolish for making herself look so weak and helpless. Yet it was pleasant to see the whole palace worrying about her. And having Aang's attention was never a bad thing.

Katara started, "Did Toph tell you?"

The Avatar turned to face her, his eyes light. He nodded, and when he spoke it sounded detached and slow. "Yes, she did." He turned his face. "I'm sorry, Katara. I should have controlled myself. I thought we didn't do anything. I wasn't sure. But Toph said we did. And…I believe her." He sounded ashamed. The Fire Lady touched his shoulder.

"It's not about that," she said. "She told you about Zuko, too?"

"Yes." His tone was vacant. There was a fierce fire in his eyes, and the grimace—Katara thought—was rather noticeable. "I mean," he began, not taking his eyes off of her, "I know what we did was wrong. But we were drunk." He clenched his fists. She heard his teeth rub against each other. "I can't believe him! How the hell can he? He's a dog! That—that son of a—"

Katara pressed her open palm to his mouth and shushed him. "Please," she murmured, "Toph does enough cursing around here."

Aang reached up and grasped her hand—admiring her manners. His fingers were cold. She wasn't expecting him to kiss her. She thought they had been through enough already. But he did. He brushed her lips against hers in the softest way and stated, "This is all my fault. I shouldn't have come. I don't know why I did."

Her first thought was that he wanted to get back at Zuko. But she didn't know how to answer. She said, regardless, "I think you know."

"I probably do."

Her voice was bitter. "Yes, you do. You know why you came. Please don't kiss me anymore." She pushed his face away gently and looked at him, frowning. "Why did you come, Aang? Don't dance around the subject. Tell me."

His face had an odd look to it, as if he had been expecting Katara to kiss him back, and leave Zuko almost instantly after the news. But he said nothing. He let go of her hand and sat closer to her. He knew she wanted an admittance. An explanation.

Aang looked desperate. The words came out in an easy, flowing way. "I love you, Katara. That's why."

Her heartbeat leaped behind her rib cage. "…You didn't love me when I was with you three years ago."

"I did. I just didn't know what to do about it."

"I _loved_ you," Katara admitted to the pillow she held in her lap. "I _loved _you, Aang. I loved you so much. You don't even know." Her face had turned the color of the sheets. This was hard, but it had to come out. Her eyelids trembled. She added quietly, "I still love you. On my wedding day I imagined your face on Zuko's shoulders. When we made love, and I was afraid"—small tears rolled out of her eyes—not saddened, but humiliated—"I…I tried to imagine you there—telling me it was going to be okay."

"I'm sorry," he whispered pathetically, wiping his thumb across her wet cheeks. "I love you, Katara. I'm sorry."

They didn't know what else to say. These words, spoken aloud, seemed like an unwritten contract. He pulled her to his chest. Her hair smelled like salt and Zuko's tobacco and the exotic tea they had sampled earlier in the evening. He kissed her forehead just as the Fire Lord had. She clasped her hands behind his neck.

"What am I supposed to do now?" she asked him in a whisper. "What am I supposed to do?"

"You have to do whatever makes you happy." He kissed her again. _He is so warm,_ Katara thought, remembering the alley.

"What if I'm pregnant?" she inquired suddenly, her voice rising. "How will I know who it belongs to?" She buried herself deeper into his clothes, as if she could run away from it all, and forget. This was why affairs ruined families. She had never imagined herself being so disloyal—nor feeling this filthy. "This is so wrong. I'm such an idiot."

The subject had come out of no where, but he didn't seem too startled by it. He answered simply, "Don't think about that now, Katara. Think of what you're going to do next." She felt him move some hair away from her face. His fingers brushed behind her ears. "And you're not an idiot. It's not your fault…it's probably mine. I told you—I shouldn't have come."

She couldn't hold it in anymore—she admired him. She admired his guilt, his shame…she admired how easily he could make her feel better. She traced her hands to the front of his face. She steadied herself in front of him and stared blankly ahead of her, through his eyes, as if he wasn't there.

"I want to kiss you," she said dreamily. "But I know I can't. It's torture."

"What if I kiss you?"

She didn't answer. Aang could see the confusion in her eyes—how much she wanted something she couldn't have, and how she had something she had once wanted but no longer cared for. He saw her swallow.

"I want to kiss you," he whispered. "If I kiss you, it won't be your fault."

"I'm still married." But she didn't let go of his face. He kissed her lips tenderly—delicately, as if she were a fragile thing that fainted easily.

She didn't respond to this. But when he didn't move she ordered inaudibly, against his lips, "kiss me again."

And he did as he was told. Against her frustrated sigh he parted her lips with his tongue. She felt it—the slippery muscle, the way it jerked inside her mouth the way Zuko's had so many times before. She pushed herself closer to him. Once he had prodded her enough she entered his mouth furtively—secretly—without hesitation.

They knew they weren't supposed to do anything yet. Admitting love to another is significant in itself. Yet the fact that Zuko was also having an affair suddenly made their situation acceptable. If Zuko could cheat, than so could Katara. And if they happened to be tossed in a ring of cheating and lying and filth…well, it would just have to stay that way. Her first time had occurred under the influence of super crazy tea. She was sure that his first time—or all _times_, rather—were sober.

So Katara didn't protest when she felt Aang lower her back on the bed. Their kissing became a gentle, excited gnawing. She bit his lower lip fiercely when she felt his hand work on her frog buttons down the front of her kimono.

She didn't ask him if the door was locked. She didn't tell him to stop. She knew this was wrong, but she was detached, and felt empty. Like she had done with Zuko so many times before—with every problem she had. This was the answer. No, she didn't forgive Aang for giving up on her so easily. Even if he had apologized, she didn't forgive him. But she was desirous. She was confused. She believed a fairly large majority of her problems could be solved with sex.

He traced his fingertips up the skin of her stomach to the cloth of her chest bindings, inside the kimono. The same one that still stank of the alley. This wasn't supposed to be happening—not on Zuko's bed. Not here. Not with so many servants chattering outside.

Her breasts contracted at his touch. His other hand pressed against the flesh of her stomach. She moaned awkwardly, urgently, and pushed her knee between his legs. She could feel the weight that lay between, how pliable and supple and warm it was—the way he tried to silence a groan every time she passed her leg beneath it—barely touching, barely teasing, but there.

An odd sound erupted from his throat. His hands stopped. Instead he felt around for the thigh of the leg that was bothering him and ran his fingers along its length. But Katara didn't stop the teasing gesture, and it only intensified when he tried to undo the fastening of the thin robe that lay beneath her kimono.

The sash that had held everything together opened up like a wilting rose. She heard Aang grunt uneasily. And then—ashamed—she realized that he had started removing his pants.

Bleakly, she realized it was over.

Katara pushed him off and wrapped the sash about her waist and covered herself with the blanket. She yelled crossly at him to keep his clothes on.

He stood up, self-conscious and disappointed that their session had ended so quickly. He didn't turn his face when she tried to fix the sash, nor fasten the frog buttons. Aang simply watched, as if amused.

She said, "Maybe you should leave."

His eyes searched her body in an ambitious sort of manner. He answered greedily, "I don't want to."

"What's happened to you?" she asked after a short pause, wrapping the blankets across her shoulders. "In the alley you could barely look at me and now you—now you just tried to—"

"I didn't know you loved me in the alley," he explained with his lopsided smile. "Now I know, Katara. And I know that Zuko doesn't love you. And I know you aren't happy. And…it changes everything." She stared at him, awestruck. She realized dimly that he was right. When he reached the door he straightened his clothes and turned around and winked and smiled—the typical Aang gesture. He mouthed before he left, "I love you, Katara."

The door shut after him, and suddenly the healer felt lonely, and rather distressed. She slept and dreamt she was an acrobat performing for General Tsu's Shoppe of Sorts.

She refused to dream about Aang. She refused to think about Zuko. When the urge swelled within her she merely bit the pillow and focused on something else. She thought about what would happen if there was a child growing within her. It was scary and brought tears to her face. Her life had never been this confusing.

It was a long night. Zuko wasn't back by morning, and neither was Aang.

* * *


End file.
